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Comparing Culinary Arts Programs
By now you should have made a decision regarding the type of degree that you plan to attain, and whether or not you would like to enroll in a private or a public institution. Since there a large number of culinary institutions in the Harrison area and across the United States, you must develop a checklist of important qualifications so that you can start narrowing down your choices. A few obvious qualifications, such as cost and location are an excellent place to begin. But deciding on a school because it is the nearest or the least expensive is not the ideal way to make a decision regarding your education. There are other factors, including accreditation and reputation that you should review as well. Therefore, following are some critical areas that you need to investigate for each school as you compare them and make your ultimate choice.
Accreditation. It's important that the culinary school you decide on has some type of accreditation from either a local or a national authority. As previously mentioned, the accrediting agency should be a U.S. Department of Education certified authority, for example the American Culinary Federation (ACF). ACF accredited schools have passed a detailed assessment regarding their course of study, instructors and facilities. Therefore not only does accreditation help establish that you will receive quality training, but it can also help in securing a student loan or financial assistance which are often not available for non-accredited schools.
Age. Newer schools frequently have the benefit of having modern equipment and facilities. However, they may not have been open long enough to acquire an accreditation or to establish a reputation. On the other hand, more established schools may still be using their original, dated equipment, but have established a lengthy history of excellence and earned one or more accreditations. Also, the much more a school has been in business, the more alumni the school can solicit for its job placement program. Obviously there is some give and take based on the age of the culinary arts schools. And older, more highly regarded schools typically modernize their equipment and facilities. The significant takeaway is that in the best case scenario, your chosen school will have an excellent reputation, accreditation and a modern facility with modern equipment.
Job Placement Rates. Initially, find out what the graduation rates are for the culinary institutes you are assessing. Lower graduation rates are red flags that numerous students were dissatisfied with either the institutes or the courses and quit before graduating. They may also indicate that the instructors were not competent to teach the curriculum. Ask the schools to supply their job placement rates as well. If a college has a higher job placement rate, it will help verify that it has a good or excellent reputation within the culinary arts community, as well as a large network of professional relationships. Watch out for any school that will not provide this information.
Location. The culinary arts college that you choose should be within driving distance of your Harrison residence, unless you are able to relocate. You may look into attending school online, but you would still need to travel for your externship training. Alternatively, perhaps you have opted to go to a specific culinary college located in a different state because of its ranking and courses offered. It would be a good idea to pay a visit to the facility before enrolling, to make certain that you are comfortable with the location and your prospective living conditions. Inspect the training facilities personally to make sure they are modern and that the equipment is state of the art. Consider also that some schools target their job assistance programs within their regional communities, so pick a location where you will satisfied working.
Class Sizes. The ideal way to learn how to cook is with a lot of one-on-one instruction. If the culinary school you enroll in has large classes, you will probably get little personal attention from the instructors. The optimal way to assess the interaction between instructors and students is to audit a few of the classes. Ask a couple of the students what their experience has been. Find out if they are satisfied with the amount of attention they receive in class in addition to the overall training. Also, speak with several of the teachers and find out what their teaching philosophies are together with their histories and credentials.
Flexible Class Schedules. There is no point in enrolling in a culinary school if you will be unable to attend the classes. So make sure that the school you decide on has available class scheduling that will fit in with your active lifestyle. If you can only attend at night or on Saturdays or Sundays near Harrison NY due to your work schedule, make sure that the school you decide on offers either night or weekend classes. If you can only attend on a part-time basis, confirm that the culinary program has a part-time alternative. Also, ask what the make-up policy is if you must miss a class due to work, family or other responsibilities.
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